Arrests for November 2000

These arrests were made possible through
the cooperation of the Frauds Bureau, law enforcement, the insurance
industry and the public.

To report suspected incidents of insurance
fraud, call 1-888-FRAUDNY

CAUGHT!
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TIME TO PAY THE PIPER

On 11/29/00, Stephen T. Maimone of Pittsfield, New York, who on
three separate occasions submitted fraudulent certificates of insurance
in order to obtain work on various projects while avoiding payment
of appropriate insurance premiums, was sentenced to a stiff fine
of $1,000 plus a $110 surcharge and three-years probation. Maimone
was arrested in 8/00 following an investigation by the Frauds Bureau
and the Monroe County District Attorneys Office.

TWO FOR ONE

Two Upstaters Arrested
on 11/30/00.

Charged with various
crimes.

A Ballston Spa woman is charged with
insurance fraud in the 4th degree and offering a false instrument
for filing in the 1st degree. The defendant allegedly submitted
a claim to her insurer falsely stating she had been involved in
a work-related accident and included paperwork attesting to the
accident and the injuries she allegedly sustained. She subsequently
received $2,400 in lost wage benefits.

A Schenectady janitor was also arrested
in this case and charged with offering a false instrument for
filing in the 1st degree and conspiracy in the 5th degree. The
janitor is accused of suggesting the scam to his fellow employee
and signing the accident form as a witness. The investigation
leading to the two arrests was conducted by the Frauds Bureau
with the assistance of the Saratoga County District Attorney
Office.

QUEENS AUTO THEFT RING ROUNDED UP

21 Arrested in connection
with fraud sweep on 11/21/00.

Charged in enterprise
corruption and various other crimes.

A fraud sweep conducted on 11/21/00 led to the arrest of 17 individuals
in connection with the operation of a multi-million dollar auto
theft, dismantling and stolen parts ring operating in Queens and
Brooklyn. Six of the defendants are charged under New York States
Organized Crime Control Act with operating a criminal enterprise.
These six defendants and 11 others are also charged with grand larceny,
criminal possession of stolen property and unlawful dismantling,
among other crimes. Four additional arrests have subsequently been
made in this case. According to the charges, the manager and operator
of the ring would receive orders for specific auto parts from body
shop owners. The manager would then allegedly give orders to various
thieves, called "steal men," and dismantlers, known as
"cutters," to steal cars for the requested parts. The
stolen cars were then dismantled and the parts shipped to the auto
body shops that had ordered them. The ring manager also faces charges
in an alleged arson in Brooklyn and an alleged shooting up of a
building in revenge for the theft of a motorcycle. A ten-month investigation
conducted by the Frauds Bureau, the NYPD Auto Crime Division, and
the Queens District Attorneys Office led to the arrests. The
Hartford Insurance Company provided funding and investigative assistance.

TAXI!

Long Island Man Arrested
on 11/20.

Charged with insurance
fraud in the 4th degree.

During the period from 11/6/96 to 12/9/97, a warehouse worker collected
workers compensation benefits for an injury he sustained on
the job. However, he decided to enhance his benefits by submitting
fraudulent receipts for taxi fares to and from alleged doctor appointments
for which he was reimbursed $1,153. An investigation by the Frauds
Bureau found the receipts to be forgeries.

MAJOR CRACKDOWN ON NO-FAULT FRAUD IN NEW YORK
CITY AREA

53 Indicted, 29 Arrested
on 11/16; More Arrests Imminent.

Charged with mail
fraud and insurance fraud.

In what is being called the biggest-ever crackdown on no-fault
auto insurance fraud in the New York City Area, 53 defendants have
been charged for their participation in a scheme that purposely
staged at least 27 auto accidents in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan,
and Hempstead, Long Island since 1996. According to the criminal
complaint, owners and managers of medical clinics paid "runners"
to recruit drivers to cause accidents and others who agreed to be
passengers. In 21 of the 27 staged accidents, these drivers allegedly
targeted vulnerable drivers such as women alone, women with children
and the elderly as their innocent victims. The other six accidents
involved cars owned or insured by members of the ring who hit each
other. The recruiters would then send the drivers who had initiated
the accidents and their passengers to the medical clinics owned
and managed by the individuals who had hired the recruiters in the
first place. The passengers falsely claimed multiple injuries and
sought payment for services that either were not necessary or were
never provided. Of the 53 indicted, 29 have been arrested, including
one ring member who acted as a passenger in an accident and sued
himself under an alias as the owner of the auto used to cause the
accident. This investigation is ongoing and more arrests are imminent.
The indictment and subsequent arrests were the result of a multi-agency
investigation conducted by the Frauds Bureau, the U.S. Postal Inspection
Service, the U.S. Attorneys Office and the FBI.

OVER THE LIMIT

General Contractor and Employee
Arrested 11/7/00.

Charged with insurance
fraud in the 3rd degree.

A Ballston Lake resident allegedly put
more than 50,000 miles over the legal limit on his leased car
over a two-year period. Excess mileage on a leased vehicle can
be extremely costly. The defendant is charged with arranging with
one of his employees have the car "stolen." He subsequently
reported to his insurer and the NYPD that he had last seen the
car on 10/7/00 at his job site on Staten Island. However, as the
result of an investigation, the Frauds Bureau and the New York
State Police took possession of the car on 10/4/00, three days
before the lessee claimed he had last seen it. He was arrested
on 11/7/00.

The employee who arranged the theft was
also arrested for his part in the scheme.

NO FUN IN THE SUN

Onondaga County Man Arrested
on 11/3/00.

Charged with insurance
fraud in the 3rd degree and workers
compensation fraud.

A laborer from upstate New York is accused of collecting workers
compensation benefits while he was gainfully employed in Florida.
He submitted written documents to the New York State Workers' Compensation
Board falsely stating that he was not working. An investigation
conducted by the Frauds Bureau and the State Insurance Fund resulted
in an arrest warrant. The defendant turned himself in to the Onondaga
County Sheriffs Office on 11/3/00.

SEE YOU IN COURT

Three Broome County Men
Arrested on 11/2/00.

Charged with committing
a fraudulent practice under Section 114(1) of the New York State
Workers Compensation Law.

Three men were arrested by the Broome County Sheriffs Office
on 11/2/00 in connection with separate workers compensation
fraud cases. The investigations of these cases were conducted jointly
by the Frauds Bureau and the Broome County Sheriffs Office.

One, a Binghamton man, is accused of
fraudulently collecting $11,643 in workers compensation
benefits from June 1999 to September 2000;

Another, from Johnson City, is charged
with collecting $11,537 from May 1999 to August 2000 in workers
compensation benefits to which he was not entitled; and

The third, a resident of Vestal, allegedly
collected $5,507 from June 1998 to September 2000.

It should be noted that arrests and indictments
are merely accusations and that a defendant is presumed innocent until
proven guilty.